Belfast has been ranked in the top five cities in the UK for having the best quality of life according to latest research.

The Mercer 2015 Quality of Living rankings have listed Belfast as 5th in the UK and 63rd overall out of a total of 230 cities around the world.

London came top in the UK (40), followed by Birmingham (52), Glasgow (55), Aberdeen (57), and Belfast (63), but Dublin beat them all and was ranked 34th overall.

Vienna has the world’s best quality of living followed by Zurich and Auckland, and Baghdad is listed bottom of the pile.

Mercer conducts its Quality of Living survey annually to help multinational companies and other employers compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments.

Employee incentives include a quality-of-living allowance and a mobility premium. Mercer’s Quality of Living Reports provide valuable information and hardship premium recommendations for over 440 cities throughout the world; the ranking covers 230 of these cities.